(Photo: Marina Williams)
On an average night in Mullet Arena, Arizona State (3-6-1, 1-2-1 NCHC) takes the ice in front of 4,234 fans. When the Sun Devils take the trip to Grand Forks, North Dakota, to take on No. 6 North Dakota (7-3-0, 3-1-0 NCHC) this weekend, they will face over 10,000 at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
“We are excited to go over there,” head coach Greg Powers said. “And when you go into those types of environments, you have to use it to your advantage.”
While the number may seem daunting, the Sun Devils have found success in a nearly identical environment. The last time an unranked ASU squad faced off against a No. 6-ranked Fighting Hawks team was two years ago, and it was in front of 15,000 fans, a large majority of whom were sporting green and black, in Las Vegas for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game. The Sun Devils overcame a two-goal deficit in a 3-2 win, leaving Sin City speechless.
Another parallel comes with ASU’s underwhelming start to the season at 3-6-1, the same mark it was at this time last year, and right around the same time it turned the season around against another top-ranked opponent on the road in No. 1 Denver.
“Never in a million years that I thought that would be our record,” Powers said. “But it is our record, so we have to draw on experiences and there’s a lot of good things that I think we are doing . . . but we still have got to piece together a really complete team game.”
Coming off a series loss against No. 17 Colorado College and a road split against Miami, a theme of costly mistakes has emerged this season. Five out of ASU’s six losses came with three or more unanswered goals from their opponents — several of which occurred when they had the lead.
With seven out of eight defenseman being underclassmen, the Sun Devil blue line has been a pressure point, and some growing pains have come with the fresh faces.
“Well, it’s always hard at the start,” sophomore defenseman Joel Kjellberg said. “We are getting better every day, and it is going to get good at the end. [We] need to play with a little bit more confidence, but obviously it comes with the more games you play.”
While early struggles have been apparent, a few players have provided some light to ASU’s gloomy start.
The clear standout has been senior forward Cruz Lucius, who has a team-leading eight goals, additionally tying him for sixth most in the NCAA. Lucius has been finding the back of the net with ease, scoring in five out of his first ten games, including a two-goal game against Miami and a hat trick against Alaska Fairbanks.
The other Sun Devil star, freshman goaltender Samuel Urban, has been a pleasant surprise between the pipes. Starting the season behind senior Connor Hasley, the Slovakian started both games last weekend against Colorado College, allowing just five goals on the weekend and keeping ASU within striking distance in both games — a large reason it was able to overcome the three-goal deficit and force a tie on Friday.
Urban was also the last man off the ice at practice on Tuesday morning, as his work ethic has begun to pay off and is rubbing off on the rest of the team.
“He just works.” Powers said. “Like he’s just a pro. He’s got this vibe that the guys want to be around him, and he’s just an infectious kid in such a positive way that I know that it’s just going to pick up more steam and filter into the rest of the group.”
A starter for Friday’s game has not been announced, but the masked man across from the Sun Devils formerly wore the Maroon and Gold himself.
Graduate goaltender Gibson Homer transferred from ASU to North Dakota last offseason and has since played seven games for the Fighting Hawks with a 4-3 record. Homer ended last season in Tempe with an impressive 91.9 save percentage and an 8-5-2 record. This year, he has taken a dip to 89 percent but has still been North Dakota’s go-to guy in the crease.
The Fighting Hawks also feature several premier point getters, including Nashville Predators’ seventh-round draft pick, senior forward Ben Striden, who leads the team with 12 points on four goals and eight assists.
Pittsburgh Penguins’ seventh-round sophomore forward Mac Swanson has also had a hot start to his season with four goals and six assists at the ripe age of 19, while Red Wings’ second-round pick senior forward Dylan James has been the leading goal getter, with six tallies in just ten games.
The odds are stacked against the Sun Devils as they head up to Grand Forks as a severe underdog, but with a 2-1 all-time series lead over the Fighting Hawks, there is no doubt in ASU’s locker room about the challenging weekend ahead.
“There’s not many people who think we can go up and have success.” Powers said. “We know we can … You’ve got to draw on experiences, and we’ve gone on the road into situations like these before, into tough environments and had success. We believe we can on Friday.”
